Kelly: CMU women's basketball has become a team to watch

Published 6:37 am, Monday, January 17, 2011

Here's a good one from the in-case-you-weren't-paying-attention file ...

There's a hot basketball team in the area that is playing an exciting, fast-paced, run-and-gun style, scoring a ton of points, and winning a lot of games. But chances are that you probably don't know much about this team.

I'll give you a hint: It plays its home games only 25 minutes from Midland.

Another hint: The players wear maroon and gold. And sometimes nail polish.

Yes, the same Central Michigan University women's basketball team which has enjoyed only two winning seasons over the past 17 years.

And the same Central Michigan University women's basketball team which has been not much more than an afterthought over the years for hoops fans and CMU alumni such as myself.

Entering the 2010-11 season, I'll admit that the Chippewas definitely were NOT on my radar. About the only history CMU has in women's hoops over the past two decades is a history of futility, and I assumed the Chips would be headed for more of the same this season.

But when the Chips began winning games during their early-season tournaments, I sat up and began to take notice.

And when they began winning Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors just about every week, I started to get intrigued.

And when I finally made the trip to McGuirk Arena for their game against Northern Illinois last week, I became hooked.

To put it simply, I had a blast!

Maybe I had just forgotten how strong and athletic Division I players can be. Or maybe the Chippewas are just better than I expected.

Whatever the case, I saw a team headed by coach Sue Guevara that obviously has a lot going for it.

While CMU didn't play its best game of the season against NIU, the Chippewas looked great in spurts and played strong down the stretch to pull out a victory. And I saw a number of terrific, athletic plays that I just don't get to see very often while covering high school and NCAA Division II basketball.

The nice thing about the Chippewas, specifically, is that they are balanced. Very balanced.

It is impossible for opponents to key on any one or two players, because Central gets production from a number of different sources and can score from just about anywhere on the floor.

By way of introduction, senior guard Shonda Long from nearby Buena Vista leads the Chips at 16.4 points per game and recently became the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 192 entering the weekend.

Six-foot sophomore guard Brandie Baker from Flint Hamady is a strong, athletic player who is an awfully tough match-up for smaller guards, and she averages 13.1 ppg.

Most notable, though, is 6-1 senior forward Kaihla Szunko from Saginaw Heritage, who was averaging 16.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.2 steals per game as of this writing last week.

I had the opportunity to watch Szunko play numerous times when she was in high school, and my impression of her was that she was a very good -- though not great -- high school player. I assumed she would just be a solid role player at CMU, earn her degree, and go on about her business.

Instead, Szunko has turned in a stupendous senior campaign thus far. As of last Wednesday, she ranked third in the nation in double-doubles with 13, ninth in the nation in rebounds per game, and 14th in the nation in steals per game.

As a team, the Chippewas have also made their mark in the national rankings. As of last Wednesday, CMU was fourth in all of Division I basketball in scoring offense at over 85 ppg and 17th in 3-pointers made per game at 7.9.

Along the way, the Chips have started the season at 11-4 through their first 15 games and were atop the MAC standings at 3-0 heading into the weekend.

Of their four early-season losses, one came by 11 points to Iowa of the Big Ten, one came by eight points to Northwestern of the Big Ten, and one came by 16 to Pittsburgh of the Big East.

Of note, the Chips beat Ole Miss, a solid Southeastern Conference opponent with an 8-6 record, by double digits only a couple of weeks ago, and there's no reason to believe they can't continue winning.

Of course, it's way too early to start proclaiming CMU the frontrunner in the conference or making reservations for the NCAA Tournament. As they say, there's a lot of basketball yet to be played, and the Chips really haven't earned anything yet.

I take that back. Hopefully, they're earning some respect.

And that's one thing that has been a long time coming for CMU women's basketball.